


A Drink To You

by Kinoink



Series: Tales from Ishgard and Beyond [3]
Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Black Mage Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), Canonical Character Death, F/M, Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward, Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward Spoilers, Implied Love, Love Confession, Minor Haurchefant Greystone/Warrior of Light, Minor Spoilers, Miqo'te (Final Fantasy XIV), Miqo'te Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), Post-Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward, estinien mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-20
Updated: 2019-07-20
Packaged: 2020-07-09 09:44:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19885576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kinoink/pseuds/Kinoink
Summary: Lord Haurchefant Greystone had been one of the closest friends, comrade, and a knight in arms. He had given much to protect the spark of hope for all of Eorzea. However, he had left some unsettled feelings behind, only to be seen after the final fight with Nidhogg. May he forever walk in the Light of the Crystal.





	A Drink To You

**Author's Note:**

> Spoilers for Heavensward Main Scenario, takes place before post! If you don't WANT some minor spoiling, then click off, otherwise read on!

It had taken all but a moment, a feeling of as if they were on the winning side, to end up losing someone beloved. Instead of suffering as she had been the target, no, that so-called honor had gone to a great knight, server and son of House Fortemps, Lord Haurchefant. The Archbishop had been cornered against that airship he used to make a get away, and as they were about to head him off, a flying bolt shot through like a lance of blue light had sung through the air and Hauchefant had pushed the Warrior of Light out of its reach, shield raised to protect Eorzea’s hero. While it seemed he had been able to fight back...the bolt pierced his defenses and struck home past plate, chain, into flesh, bone, and vitals. At the time, Gi’ntana, Estinien, Lucia, and Ser Aymeric could do nothing as the airship would soon leave the strip...and the enemy to Ishgard and knights twelve escaped into the sunset. 

She held his gloved hand in hers with a tight grip as she fought back the tears that formed in them, making the ruby and sapphire eyes glisten like the gemstones they were colored after. While the Warrior of Light tried to smile, something he said benefit a hero, it wasn’t until his last breath as he would take it as all life in a man who was lively, kind, and a close friend, would be snuffed out in a puff of misted air against blood-caked lips. Gi’ntana cried, screaming her lungs out to the darkening sky, the stars almost feeling like they were mocking with a supposed sense of “peace”despite the ever-looming threat and became almost nearly inconsolable if not for Lucia approaching her in silence and that cold metal of her plate armor wrapped around her lightly clothed one as it was up to Estinien to help take the fallen comrade’s body from the Vault to the manor. However, there had been no rest for the wicked, and for a moment she had been angry at her younger Elezen friend when he had suggested a time to go and head off the Archbishop to Azys Lla with barely a day to mourn and let herself rest, perhaps though...the situation would have been just the same or even worse off.

Gi’ntana would have been angry for longer if Alphinaud and her had not reconciled on a walk through Gridania for errands while their closest comrade Y’shtola rested and recovered from her time in the Lifestream. They had come to an understanding that there would be time to mourn and pray for the loss when they managed to bring peace. It just was hard to bear a grudge on someone when he was doing what he thought was the best at the time. Moving on though had brought them a victory though once the Archbishop with a heavy god-king complex soon no longer breathed, just as his knight had taken away Lord Haurchefant, his was snuffed away. 

Even then where one problem fell another would take its place like a hydra head.

The Warrior of Light stared down at the headstone that marked the burial place for her dear friend, her fingers would slowly draw across the top as she stared at it longingly. “If only you would have stayed but a while longer. I was looking forward to having this celebration, the moving forward of man and dragon, by our side and making sure our heads were on straight.” She sighed as her breath showed up as a mist in the air, blue sky and faint clouds hovering above as the sun shone brightly. Looking up a bit she gave a wry smile, “I have rarely gotten to see Coerthas in sunlight, Ishgard even more so. You always teased me whenever I spoke ill of the weather, telling me how beautiful the land truly was. Now, I see what you did, maybe even now I’ll see past the grey and bleak...because when the sun does shine, it looks like a marvel…” Absently her teeth would bite at her lower lip, closing her eyes as she felt warmth rise up and glaze them over.

“Even now, I can’t thank you enough for saving me, but I wished your fate not have you sacrifice your life for mine own. Much...would have preferred you simply injured...and not swept away…” She sighed as she reached up with her sleeve and would rub at her eyes only to come to pause as she heard a faint crinkling as her arm pressed against something to her breast. Quickly wiping away the tears she reached into the pocket of her robes and removed a parchment envelope, staring at her own name written on the front, flipping it over to see the House Fortemps seal pressed into the red wax long since dried, but never opened. “Your father told me this was among your belongings...but when he bequeathed to me your shield, this did not come with it until our victory over the Archbishop…” she sighed and looked to the headstone for a moment, shaking her head a little bit, she was starting to sound stark raving mad talking to herself in the cold air.

Sliding a finger into the opening of the envelope she would trace down along the seam until she broke the seal that allowed her to pull out the parchment that had been tucked inside, having not given much thought until Nidhogg was slain, and blinked in surprise as she saw that he had a letter prepared in advance before the assault upon the Vault. Slowly her red and blue eyes would start to scan along the writing, starting from the top of course, but as she went along the contents...there would soon be an understanding as to why she had not received this letter until after.

_“Dearest Gi’ntana,_

_Pray, forgive the fact I do not call you by your appointed title within these writings. What I have to put upon here requires me to write to you as not a Warrior of Light, nor a Scion, but as yourself. After all if you were not reading this at the moment, this letter would have no need for existing, burned in a pyre to never see the light of the day. However, since you have more than likely have taken this to your person, it means that the worst has come to pass and I am no longer by your side. Before the real reason behind this truly finds its start, I beg that you remember that for whatever caused my passing, that it was a great honor as a knight to stand at your side, and a knight’s duty to protect. Please, do not let these coming words sway how you feel as a person, or any decisions for that matter as you make your way towards what the future holds._

_You first came to Coerthas a mere fledgeling adventurer, not accustomed to our traditions, berated because you were a stranger and we as Ishgardians could not find it in ourselves to trust any outsiders. However, you showed relentlessness in your journey, making sure a man did not become framed by false accusations of consorting with dragons. While at first I was unsure of your true intentions, they would become so much clearer and I saw as no longer a stranger, but as someone with pure intentions of trying to bring peace to the realm. It’s silly to say now that the only original intention of your journey to Coerthas was to simply find an old airship. For a moment, I was curious to see if you would ever return to Dragonhead, or if you would leave it behind as a simple relic of history and to my shock you would return on more than one occasion whether diplomatic or hunting._

_During those visits, I witnessed something extraordinary, I watched as you started to begin as a fledgling in the cold to a rising phoenix, strong and capable, and if you’d pardon the dark humor, a habit of not dying no matter the odds with the exception of a handful of near fatal injuries. Your magic would become stronger and you would change as I recall the times you wore the garb that nearly hid you away from the world, only to come forth once more to put yourself more out in the open. I realized something odd in particular...you were a fully capable young woman and...an odd sense of longing overtook me when you left once more. This is but one of two revelations that had come to pass the longer your stay behind the walls of Ishgard had become._

_Moving forward when that black mark was spread upon your names during the Sultana’s assassination coup. While Tataru had remained strong throughout with the best of her abilities, young Master Alphinaud practically inconsolable, it was you who tried to keep the bravest face even when you came to me seeking sanctuary of our Fallen Snows, your eyes had such a shadow behind them. You had witnessed death, betrayal, hurt, loss, uncertainty, so much within such a short span of time, but you never let yourself truly be seen in order to make others feel as if their burdens could be relieved if you pushed yours aside. While admirable, it was foolish to not allow yourself to grieve and have frustrations...instead you took what you had and narrowed it to the wildlife that bothered us. According to what one of the guards at his post mentioned that is._

_In time though that urge came again, that feeling of wishing to be closer to you when we came together as we shared in the good news that Ishgard would receive you, my own house allowing you stay...and while I tell you that you shouldn’t ignore how you feel, it was I who wished to have taken that information and did as was suggested._

_Your being in Ishgard brought me to the second realization, but only too late. Your focus had turned to another, one who needs you mayhap now more than ever, and longer still as time goes on. As you and he worked to the bone in order to prove your worth to not just the city, but to my House as well, my presence lacked, and my visits would only see how close you and he have become since you first came. I realized that the short time we spent together in the city, I found myself like many attracted to the fantastical stories of your journey, but finding much more to appreciate such as your candor, your spirit, the way we matched wits, and your laugh though perhaps only when it is light and airy, you cackle like a madwoman when you get exuberant. Perhaps what most caught my intrigue had to do with your eyes...as before when you came to Dragonhead seeking refuge, they truly were the window to the soul, crystal clear and shine with many of the emotions you hold, sparkling like the gemstones they are colored after when you are excited, to flaring when you become angry. Ah, had I allowed myself I would have been caught staring for bells._

_Perhaps you can simply call it infatuation, and while others may inform that I placed you upon a reflection of a sister, the matter of the heart was my secret that I have taken with me even in death. Except with these writings, of course. Love can be an incredibly double-edged blade, it can make you feel wondrous, as if the tragedies of the world can be taken away being around the other half, but on the other side it can be used as a tool against you for nefarious reasons. What makes the worst outcome hurt all the more is the regret that words may never be shared, no confession to exchange, leaving behind a one-sided affection never returned and ripped away whether by death or watching them walk away with another. Mine own regret fits the former as I hadn’t taken the courage to tell you even within privacy, but mayhap these writings would become my last chance to convey what I would have wanted to say. I was in love with The Warrior of Light, Hero of Eorzea, Primal Slayer, all of them you; Gi’ntana. While I wished that our time together would have been longer, it is the best way for me to put into words._

_Now, it is too late for me, but always know that I am beside you always, in spirit, and when times will ever seem its bleakest think of your happier memories. Be just like you always are, kind-hearted and resourceful. I will forever be proud to call you a friend, a comrade, and a fleeting love._

_However, before I close this off, I must ask onto you one final request that is much more personal than asking you to keep creating a more peaceful Eorzea that I’m sure many have continuously asked upon you. My request is that you do not close yourself off to finding your other half. War will be forever, there will always be a fight or a primal to slay, but life is fleeting and things can happen in an instant and you may feel as if you want to not find another because you do not wish to pull them into your struggles. Mayhap you will find one with a selfsame goal or perhaps not, even if you fight and struggle, you’ll get through it as one. Do not repeat the fault as I have. Your heart will be the one to judge...and I know it to be a proper one._

_Also, never forget to keep your chin up, for you are always going to find support within your allies and your friends. You are not just a hero to them, you are someone they will cherish for a long time as I have. While we part with sorrow, know that deep down, I love you and will carry it with me forevermore._

_Forever Yours,_

_Lord Haurchefant Greystone”_

As the letter came to an end with the final page, Gi’ntana was floored, the fact that he had harbored feelings for her, to not speak of them even in death and to leave this behind made her chest ache. Her ears lowered down as she would fold up the letter. It was no wonder Edmont had not given this to her that night with the shield. If she had read it anytime within the field of battle, her judgement would have most certainly been hazy or she wouldn’t have been able to live with the guilt that she had not seen it before. As she wiped her eyes again, her ears shifted a little bit to the sound of softly crunching snow under heel as footsteps would approach.

“I believed I would find you here again when Ser Aymeric said he hadn’t seen you since the sun rose.” It was Alphinaud, walking up to her side calmly as he always did. He had a soft smile on his lips as he would stop only a few paces away, “I did not mean to disturb you if you were wishing to mourn the loss. You expressed quite the frustration to me when you said that I believed it best to continue our path forward with swiftness without a moment to absorb the shock.” As she looked at him she saw that smile had was sad, blue eyes slowly drifting to the side, a hand brushing up and lightly gripping his arm. “...’Twas just that you were, since you were...the one that had bore witness to the tragedy first-hand.”

A wind blew, kicking up snow that had settled into a cold mist around their legs and Gi’ntana would feel her tail twitch a little bit and she gazed at the gravestone with a fond look. “Frustrated though I was, your course of action had proven to be better, did it not?” she asked him and glanced over to the younger Elezen with a small smile Y’shtola seemed to be rubbing off on her with her manner of slightly more eloquent speech as well as Ser Aymeric’s. “If we had waited, if I had held us back to mourn and sulk, the Archbishop would have made better his escape to Azys Lla and that god-king personage of King Thordan’s spirit would have run rampant. Mayhap he would’ve been harder to stop.” It was a simple explanation after the primal had shown its true power to her, it was good he was laid low before his path of self-righteous destruction would carve into Eorzea. Closing her eyes she took a breath of the frigid air into herself and let it out slowly, “Besides, we made peace in Gridania as we waited for Y’shtola to awaken from her time within the Lifestream. Did we not?”

Her confession had thrown him off a little, most that Alphinaud knew would either agree with his statements or fight against him, and at times they would be the ones fighting amongst themselves. He knew he could at times be wrong, his decisions brusque, but to know that the Warrior of Light only wished to mourn the loss of a beloved ally and friend who had given them much, asking for very little in ways of repayment, at the time had almost come off as if he had no heart. Her words though soon brought it to light and that sad smile would turn to something more resembling his joy, “That we did.” his position relaxed when he replied walking his way over to stand by her side as equals. As his eyes gazed down at the stone that settled on the cliff edge as Ishgard was in the distance, thinking to all that they had lost in the midst of this bloody Dragonsong War which had felt like had lasted forever, but soon the chorus had been quieted and Nidhogg's eyes tossed down the chasm to never be touched again. Then his eyes caught sight of the parchment in Gi’ntana’s hand and rose an eyebrow, “What do you have there?” he inquired curiously, and the Miqo’te looked back at him while she folded up the letter, tail giving an idle twitch when she slid it back into its place and into the inner pocket of her robes.

“Never you mind of that Alphinaud.” she responded with a smile starting to grow a little. When and if she wished it she would reveal the truth of Lord Haurchefant’s feelings, but today was not going to be that day. “Oh, yes…!”

A look of realization crossed her features, kneeling down to the snow to rifle through her pack that they usually used for traveling and pulled out a glass bottle with two metal cups. She was greeted with Alphinaud’s rather curious raised eyebrow and the Black Mage looked a little bit embarrassed, cheeks burning as blood pooled up a little. “Tis the famous mulled wine from the Forgotten Knight, I...figured it’d make a good offering to Lord Haurchefant if I was to toast to him since Tataru brought the flowers and by all means the shield was his even if his father placed it in my hands for a time. It might be a little cold since it has been in the snow, bit of a shame because it’s delicious warm.” Silence was the greeting for a moment as another cold breeze swept up and the young Elezen arcanist reached up to brush the braid back behind his ear as it made to whip in front of his face. It was a case where she felt as if she babbled, losing a lot of the earlier formality then her ear flicked, the earring clinking against the side of her head when she heard him chuckle faintly.

“If you will have it, I would like to join you.” Alphinaud wanted to make sure he kept an eye on her, make sure that the Miqo’te didn’t accidentally drink herself into a stupor as a coping mechanism for dealing with the loss. She had been doing well at this point, he’d rather not see her destroy herself and end up somewhere unsavory. 

Her tail moved happily for a moment as she held out one of the cups she brought along with her and Alphinaud would take it, watching as Gi’ntana would open the bottle with the subtle pop of the cork before filling the cups up, beneath the gloves he could feel the slightly warm liquid seep to his skin, staving off the chill in the air. After the Warrior of Light would pour herself her own cup, she would cork the bottle again, placing it back into her travel bag. For a moment they would stand together in silence before blue eyes glanced over the Miqo’te’s way, who seemed a little bit stuck on her words, jaw slightly tight.

“A toast to Lord Haurchefant,” Alphinaud started calmly and Gi’ntana looked at him surprised, but listened to him as he would continue, “A great comrade, a friend, and knight. He gave us much when we needed it whether it would be for shelter for runaways, or a stalwart battle. While most can say that he could have done so much more with his life, he chose to protect those he held dear, and making certain that the spark of hope remained aflame.” He looked up to Gi’ntana with a smile lighting in his eyes though his lips had remained perfectly stoic. There was some odd feeling of encouragement in them and it allowed her to nod, taking a deep breath as the lump of confusion lessened in her throat that had closed off the escape to her words.

“He left with us a lesson, that one may never know when the day will be their last. That the candle of your lifetime will be snuffed either by war, illness, or generic causes…” she felt her eyes water just a bit, but she would blink away her tears for enough had been shed for the time being. With a stalwart expression she would continue, “Though I will always stand to say that Lord Haurchefant had much more to live for, but he would not have wished for anything better than to live his life under the knight’s banner. He did just as he said he would; lived each day like it would be his very last. That very lesson, I promise to take with me to the ends of the realm, to keep moving forward until the end is reached. May he stand forevermore vigilant over his city of Ishgard.” she exhaled slowly again, it wasn’t the most well put together sort of last words, but it was the best she could come up with and that was enough for this Warrior.

However, it would seem Alphinaud would understand before holding his cup aloft by her side and with a nod the metal would clank lightly against each other, the wine inside swaying a little from the disturbance. Together in silence would they drink, slowly, and while the mulled wine was at best slightly chilled from its time in the snow, it didn’t denounce the flavor as much as it could have. The sweet burning at the back of Gi’ntana’s throat, she could feel the warmth spreading through every fiber of her being, branching from her chest and all around, while the taste of citrus and cinnamon lingered on her tongue, her gaze never would leave the headstone and the note on the inner pocket weighed heavily like a stone. Without a thought to control her body’s movement her hand that had been free of burden lightly brushed against the young Elezen’s, a very simple and light tap, but it had caught his attention...and slowly he would reach over to gently clasp their gloved hands together, squeezing with what strength he possessed in order to keep his friend anchored.

As another chill wind swept by and the sun heading towards its apex, they would finish their drinks to drain them of every last drop and to leave the cleaning to when they returned to the manor. Gi’ntana reached down and picked up the travel bag she had brought with her before bowing politely to the headstone, with a final quiet thank you to Lord Haurchefant’s service. Alphinaud would wait before the Warrior of Light would rejoin his side leaving behind their passed friend to his resting place, the perfect spot to continue his watch over Ishgard. Just as they were to walk away, a prickle formed up the back of the Miqo’te’s neck, hair standing on end that had nothing to do with a chill, but felt as if she were being watched.

Halting her steps she looked over to the spot that they had just begun to leave alone, only to see that it wasn’t alone. Maybe a trick of the light, perhaps some kind of hallucination? No, she had seen it before...just as Alphinaud had of Ysayle when they worked to free Estinien of the eyes of Nidhogg. He was there, Lord Haurchefant, just a shimmering blue specter by his graveside arms crossed and smiling to her. While no words had passed, she had a feeling that feeling of happiness of someone who was proud of her, and he would seem to nod his head ever slightly and eased his posture. With a polite bow in return he would vanish in a blur of sparkling snow as it rushed by. And that letter against her breast once holding weight like the stone it had been lightened to nothing more than the weight like the parchment that it was.

“Gi’ntana…?” Alphinaud’s voice broke through the silence she had forgotten was there, “Is aught amiss?” he inquired to her and then she looked back to him and shook her head gently. Though a little bit confused at the pause, he smiled just a bit when they would return to walking side by side as equals. They had been through much and the provision of closure had left their chests lighter, heads much more clear, but as their feet crunched in the snow, Alphinaud’s hand would absently reach over and take hold of Gi’ntana’s hand once more. Gi’n though would not jerk away in surprise like someone ordinarily would, but instead gripped back as they would make their way back to Ishgard in order to enjoy the momentary respite for a little while longer.

After all...there was bound to be something even more dangerous than a mere dragon like Nidhogg.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my personal interpretation of my Warrior of Light's full reaction and finale to Lord Haurchefant's death. While I had wanted to write more with snippets of the main events that lead up to it, it felt like a regurgitation of in game dialogue up until the aforementioned walk in Gridania, but honestly I'm a lot happier with how this version settled!
> 
> Don't forget, Kudos and Comments are always welcome!
> 
> (If you want to see that piece that happened in Gridania I can try to write it upon request)  
> (Also, I realized that I had this on the back burner for a while, and when I went back to finish it up I didn't realize I had some awkward shifts, so hopefully I fixed the mistakes most of the mentions of the fight against Nidhogg considered ongoing were fixed to after the fight. Hopefully.)


End file.
